ABSTRACT
R. Grousset, who provides a detailed account of the battles of Ramla, is clear that the Egyptian character was to blame. As far as the battles of Ramla are concerned, however, these chronicles are at first sight disappointing. This is equally true of his account of the first battle of Ramla in 1101, which both he and Ibn al-Qalanisi place under the year 494, 6 November 110 0 to 25 October 1101. Under the year 495, 26 October 1101 to 14 October 1102, Ibn al-Qalanisi refers first to the death of the Fatimid Caliph al-Musta'li in Safar, November to December 1101. The major event of 497, 5 October 1103 to 22 September 1104, the fall of Acre, is narrated in identical terms throughout. More importantly, the date of the first letter might then explain the curious displacement of the second battle of Ramla in the Egyptian tradition from 1102 to 1103.
